Posted on 03/31/2008 1:27:46 PM PDT by RDTF
SAN DIEGO — To his Navy SEAL buddies, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor will always be known as "Mikey," a fun-loving 25-year-old guy who had "a little mischievous look on his face."
It's a face they'll never forget.
On Sept. 29, 2006, while on a mission in Ramadi, Iraq, Monsoor and other members of a Navy SEAL sniper team were within a moment of death. An insurgent had tossed a grenade into their hideout, hitting Monsoor in the chest before bouncing to the floor.
In an instant, Monsoor was on the grenade, using his body to shield his comrades from the blast.
"He never took his eye off the grenade, his only movement was down toward it," said a lieutenant who sustained shrapnel wounds to both legs that day. "He undoubtedly saved mine and the other SEALs' lives, and we owe him."
For that action, President Bush on Monday announced that Monsoor will be posthumously honored on April 8 with the the nation's highest military honor, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
"Petty Officer Monsoor distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism on Sept. 29, 2006," presidential press secretary Dana Perino told reporters during a briefing aboard Air Force One. The announcement came as Bush was on his way to Ukraine, Romania, Croatia and Russia in a trip built around the NATO summit in Bucharest, Romania.
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Monsoor, a platoon machine gunner, had posthumously received the Silver Star, the third-highest award for combat valor, for his actions pulling a wounded SEAL to safety during a May 9, 2006, firefight in Ramadi. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for his sacrifice in Ramadi.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Rest in Peace sir...
John 15:13 “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
CPO Monsoor, I salute you!
http://www3.calvarychapel.com/greenbay/John/John15p2.htm
In May, his heroism under fire saved a wounded soldier and earned him the Silver Star. Just four months later, he would be tested again as he stood near a rooftop door in Ramadi, just west of Baghdad. A grenade tossed by an Iraqi insurgent hit him in the chest and bounced to the floor. Without hesitation, Michael jumped on top of the grenade to shield his fellow SEALs. The lieutenant in charge of the detail said this of Michael, “He never even took his eye off the grenade. His only movement was down toward it. He saved mine and the other SEALs’ lives, and we owe him.” At the age of 25, Michael Monsoor went to meet His Lord, but left behind four grateful families and a legacy of love.
He was an Arab-American.
With all due respect, he was an American... of Arab ancestry.
Exactly, I am sick of hyphenated monikers. You are either an American or not choose. I have always refused to say African-American, Irish American, or anything else.
BUMP!
RIP, CPO Monsoor.
And it is amazing that an American with Arab ancestry would earn the Silver Star as well as the CMoH.
This is from the Navy’s web-page about him. I believe that it drives home your point.
Petty Officer Monsoor’s actions could not have been more selfless or clearly intentional.
God bless you Monsoor, this is one american who thanks you for your service and sacrifice. It was not, and will not be in vain.
“He was an Arab-American.”
He was an American. His ancestry on his father’s side was Middle East, but he was a born and bred American.
Men like this leave me speechless.
I was thinking the same thing. God bless him!
Monsoor was a Petty Officer 2nd Class not a Chief.
Sacrifice for the love of his brothers and his country.....
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